


that one time Shiro discovered the existence of aliens at a Halloween party

by glaciya



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Abduction, Alien Invasion, Bunny Shiro (Voltron), Fluff, Galra Keith (Voltron), Humor, M/M, Meet-Cute, Misunderstandings, but like consenual alien abduction xD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-16 19:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21276560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glaciya/pseuds/glaciya
Summary: Keith is a brutally honest intergalatic mercenary taking refuge on Earth during a college Halloween party. Shiro is just a college student who thinks the cute man he just met is really into roleplay. It's a love story for the ages.





	that one time Shiro discovered the existence of aliens at a Halloween party

Shiro falls in love with a man wearing purple cat ears at a frat house costume party.

The ears aren’t the only part of his costume, but they are the first thing Shiro notices when he turns to grab a refill and crashes into the cat-eared man. The cat ears tickle the bottom of his nose before the man pulls back and blinks up at him with startled eyes, where it becomes apparent to Shiro that the cat ears were only the beginning of the man’s costume.

He’s painted all of his exposed skin the same shade as his ears, leaving his face and neck a light shade of lavender. He has on contacts too, turning his eyes violet and yellow and making his pupils long and thin like a cat’s. Shiro wonders how he can even see like that.

“Sorry,” he says when the man continues to blink up at him, despite being pretty sure the man is the one who ran into him.

The cat-eared man cocks his head and his ears twitch, angling toward Shiro. The ears must be animatronic. This guy went all out with his costume. It makes Shiro feel more than a little out done with his dollar store bought white bunny ears and pink bowtie. He’d splurged on a pink v-neck leotard and black leggings to make a good pair with Allura’s magician costume, both of them wanting to win the annual costume contest together, but if this guy enters then Shiro knows they’ve already lost.

He flushes as the man gives him a slow once-over, hoping it’s not judgment he’s seeing behind the man’s strangely beautiful contacts.

“Well,” Shiro begins. “I should-”

“You are large,” the cat-eared man interrupts him, speaking with a pleasant but unfamiliar accent in a gravelly voice.”You will do.”

Do for what- Shiro doesn’t get a chance to ask before his wrist is grabbed with a gloved, firm grip and he’s being pulled through the crowd behind the cat-eared man. He guides them through the crowded frathouse with purpose, weaving through some of Shiro’s peers and actively pushing aside others. Luckily everyone is either too buzzed or too distracted to bother with them.

The cat-eared man eventually finds an empty corner in the back of the the frat house livingroom and lets go of Shiro long enough to twirl around to press his back into the corner. He grabs two fistfuls of Shiro’s leotard and tugs him close.

Oh, Shiro thinks, okay.

He lets himself be man-handled closer, resting his elbows on the wall on either side of his new companian’s head. It’s been awhile since Shiro’s done something casual like this, but he remembers all of the moves.

Or so he thinks until he leans in for a kiss and sees the man tense up and press himself further against the wall, ears falling flat against his hair. Frowning, and sure he’s misread something somewhere, Shiro tries to pull away from the man to give him some space. The effort is put to a halt quickly and firmly by the man’s firm grip on his leotard.

“Stay,” the man says, though his ears stay flat and his eyes are darting everywhere except Shiro’s face.

He must be shy, Shiro realizes, the thought causing something warm and fond to bloom in his chest.

“I’ll stay,” he agrees easily and smiles when the man relaxes against the wall. He doesn’t get a smile in return, but his ears straighten so Shiro counts that as a win. “What’s your name?”

The man hesitates, tensing up again. “My name?”

“I’m Shiro,” Shiro offers, voice only a little teasing as he adds, “And you are?”

“I’m...Keith,” Keith finally says, sounding almost unsure.

“Nice to meet you, Keith,” Shiro says. Keith doesn’t return the sentiment, his eyes focused on something behind them from under Shiro’s arm. Shiro clears his throat. “What-umm- what are you supposed to be?”

Keith’s attention snaps back to him. “I’m Galran.”

“Is that from a show or…?”

Keith narrows his eyes. “The Galra are a species from a galaxy far, far away.”

“Okay.” Must be some new scifi series Shiro hasn’t heard of. “I’m a bunny,” he says, and points needlessly to the pair of white floppy ears he’s wearing.

Keith’s eyes track his movements. “None of my research on terran species indicated that homo sapiens would have two sets of ears.”

“What.” Shiro’s voice is flat in his shock and Keith’s ears twitch at the sound of it.

“I didn’t mean to offend,” Keith says in a rush. “It is an admirable feature. You must hear very well. Better than us Galra, even.”

And Shiro, well he’s definitely heard of roleplay before, but he’s never been an active participant in it. He’s also never heard of it used in a non-sexual manner. But Keith must really be into his costume and Shiro has never been one to judge. It doesn’t hurt that Keith is extremely handsome as well, cat ears and all.

“Your ears are nice too,” Shiro says, hoping he’s on the right path. He’s never roleplay flirted before.

Keith shakes his head. “They’re too small,” he says. “They should be at least twice their size.”

I like that you’re small, Shiro thinks, wildly, absurdly. “They look good on you,” Shiro says, deciding that’s the safer option.

It must be the right thing to say, because Keith ducks his head and blushes, cheeks turnIng into a pretty shade of plum. His ears are alert, turned toward the sound of Shiro’s voice even though they twitch away occasionally when the base of the music playing becomes loud. It’s almost like they have a mind of their own. They must have cost Keith a fortune.

“You don’t think it’s strange that I’m not from your planet?” Keith asks him. It must be his way of double-checking that Shiro is okay with the game they’re playing.

And Shiro...surprisingly is.

“Have you seen everyone else at this party?” Shiro chuckles. “There’s plenty of strange going around.”

“Yes. Terrans are much stranger than my intel lead me to believe.” Keith’s gaze travels under Shiro’s arm toward Shiro’s costumed peers, and lingers on something behind Shiro.

Curious, Shiro turns his head to follow Keith’s gaze and-oh. That’s where Allura disappeared to. She’s in a secluded corner, similar to Shiro and Keith’s but on the opposite side of the room. She has a freshman pinned between her and the wall. He’s wearing a cheerleading costume and her magician’s hat. Her tie is undone and she has one of his legs hiked up around her waist as they make-out.

“I didn’t know cannibalism was common practice in this region.”

The laugh is surprised out of him, flying past his lips louder and harder than he’s laughed in a very long time. There are tears in his eyes when he finally catches his breath. He wipes the tears away, catching an unreadable expression on Keith’s face when he can see again.

“Sorry it’s just- they’re kissing. Not eating each other,” Shiro says and to make up for his slip up adds, “They must not do it where you’re from, huh?”

Keith shakes his head so hard his ears flop back and forth with the movement. “No. What’s the purpose of it?” He can’t seem to take his eyes off the Allura and her freshman, his thin pupils darting between them and Shiro rapidly.

And Shiro. Shiro can’t take his eyes off Keith. His lips are painted purple too, a slightly darker shade than the color used on the rest of his face. They look soft.

“There’s not a purpose to it really,” Shiro murmurs. “It’s just for fun. Something two people do when they’re attracted to each other, sometimes.”

Keith’s eyes flick back to Shiro’s face and stay there. “I like fun,” he says, just as quiet.

“Keith, do you want-”

“Yes. Yes.”

It’s all the encouragement Shiro needs. They don’t break eye contact as Shiro leans in close, until his lips are only inches away from Keith’s before he pauses. He stays there, resisting the temptation to close the gap as he watches Keith, waits for him to make the next move.

Keith’s breathing goes unsteady, his inhales deep and long through his nose and his exhales fast, hitching things. He’s either nervous or he’s sniffing Shiro, who likely smells like a combination of sweat and the mixture of juice and alcohol he was drinking earlier. His grip is still tight on Shiro’s shirt, tight enough that Shiro doubts he could draw back even if he wanted to. So instead he lifts his palm to Keith’s cheek, cupping his face while his thumb swipes what he hopes is a soothing pattern across his cheek.

Keith seems to come to a decision not long after that and the only warning Shiro gets is Keith’s eyes flashing with sudden fire before Keith’s lips crash into his. It’s too hard and fast of a collision to be graceful and the angle isn’t right for their noses not too smush together. But Keith’s lips are warm and soft against his and when Shiro tilts his head and coaxes his tongue past Keith’s lips, electricity shoots from Shiro’s mouth down to his toes, making them curl up in his heeled shoes.

Shiro brushes his tongue against Keith’s, feeling Keith’s hands start to knead against his chest. Eventually Keith’s tongue moves too, at first it’s shy and hesitant, but he seems to gain confidence with each sound Shiro can’t help but let out into his mouth. When Keith’s tongue wanders into Shiro’s and laps at the roof of his mouth, Shiro gives a full body shudder and Keith answers him with a satisfied sound, low and rumbling.

When they pull back to catch their breath, Keith’s eyes continue to watch him, and if Shiro weren’t dazed out of his mind he might have noticed that Keith’s pupils have strangely changed shape in the time since they began kissing and are now more oval shaped, closer to human-like circles than the sharp cat-like lines that they were before.

But Shiro doesn’t notice because electricity is still shooting through his veins and he’s too busy thinking about how he wants to keep kissing this man he just met for forever.

“So,” he begins and breaks off, giggling. Giggling, like he’s a teenager again and just had his very first kiss.

Keith doesn’t laugh with him but his eyes are dancing with a happy light and he blinks slow and breathes fast. He makes that sound again, low and rumbling and Shiro feels a swarm of butterflies in his stomach.

“So,” Keith repeats and licks his lips. No doubt tasting Shiro on them. “Do you want-”

A crash interrupts him, followed by shouts from somewhere behind Shiro. Shiro turns, watching as a group of incredibly tall men in full body red armor and helmets come crashing through the doorway, shoving away college students that don’t get out of their way in time. They look like something from one of those sci fi shows Shiro used to watch when he was a teenager and had more free time on his hands. They’re rude too. Shiro scowls as one of them steps on the foot of a nice girl from Shiro’s chemistry class, making her yelp. He bets they’re some of the jocks.

“Quiznak,” Keith hisses from behind him. “We have to leave.”

When Shiro turns back to him, Keith is hunched down, trying to hide behind Shiro’s bulk. His eyes are wide and his ears are pinned flat against his skull.

“Are you okay?” Shiro asks. He hears one of the men behind him speak in a commanding, guttural language that Shiro doesn’t think he’s ever heard before in his life. Some of Shiro’s peers laugh a bit nervously in response.

He hears Pidge exclaim, “Dude, those costumes are badass!”

But through it all his attention remains on Keith.

“Whenever I first bumped into you I was trying to find someone to hide behind,” he confesses. His shoulders slump guilty but he barrels on urgently. “These creatures are the reason I’m here tonight. I was running from them in my spaceship and they shot out one of my engines. This was the closest habitable planet I could find to wait for my ship to repair itself.”

Shiro blinks at him. “So, they’re all involved in your alien...stuff?” Shiro catches himself just in time to avoid saying roleplay.

Keith nods.

“Okay,” Shiro says, processing. Keith is serious about this game. And apparently so are his friends if the sounds of disturbance going on behind him is anything to go by. “Why are they after you?”

When Keith hesitates and chews on his bottom lip, Shiro gives him what he hopes is a reassuring smile. It must work, because Keith gets the same determined expression on his face he had just before he kissed Shiro earlier. His ears perk up, twitching around like they’re tracking the sounds behind Shiro as he begins to speak.

“I’m part of a team of intergalactic mercenaries. My last mission involved me going undercover on a planet lead by a tyrannical king. I was to get close to him and, when the time was right, kill him.I killed him. And now his men are after me.”” Keith says all this in such a serious tone that Shiro can’t even find humor in the absurdity of it all.

“Alright,” Shiro says. “Then let’s get you out of here.”

He puts an arm around Keith’s waist, keeping himself in between Keith and his friends so they don’t see them. He knows there’s a back door to the frat house if they can just make it out of the room the way back without being noticed. He feels Keith’s gaze on him as Shiro begins to pull him in that direction.

“You’re handling all of this surprisingly well,” Keith says as they move through the crowd. It’s easy this time because everyone else is frozen as Keith’s friends start to tear the frat house apart looking for him. He hopes they all help clean up as soon as their game is over. “I thought you’d have more questions.”

Even though it’s just a game he’s tense, fighting the urge to break out into a run. Shiro waits until they reach the exit before he replies to Keith, turning to him with a smile. “You’re really good at explaining everything,” he says. And purposefully doesn’t add that he doubts any of Keith’s answers to his questions would leave him less confused about the backstory for himself that Keith has come up with. Abruptly he wonders if Keith is even this man’s real name, or just an alias he uses whenever he plays this game.

Keith smiles at him, soft and sweet. “You’re not anything like I expected, Shiro.”

Shiro laughs despite himself, opening the door. “You mean there’s more to me than just a wall of muscles for you to hide yourself behind?”

Keith’s face darkens and he opens his mouth to retort but a shrill cry from behind them cuts him off. One of Keith’s friends has reached the room Keith and Shiro had kissed in before and is standing there, pointing straight at them as he alerts everyone else of their location.

What looks like real fear shrines through Keith’s eyes and he grips Shiro’s shirt again tightly. “Run!” he cries.

And so they run. Out the back door and through the damp grass of the yard. Shiro doesn’t know where to go, other than that they need to escape Keith’s friends, so he lets Keith guide them, thankful he keeps his body in shape as he does his best to keep up with Keith.

“My ship is this way!” Keith points to a small patch of trees behind the campus library. It’s still a decent distance away from them and Shiro can hear the heavy footsteps and loud angry shouts of Keith’s friends behind them. “It should have had enough time to self-repair by now.”

“So we just have to make it there and we’ll be safe?” Shiro pants. “Easy enough.” It’s like a very extreme game of tag. When Keith shoots a concerned look back at him, like he’s worried about Shiro’s sanity, Shiro gives him a thumbs up to reassure him. The look doesn’t fade away as Keith turns back around to guide them through the treeline.

They bob and weave through trees and branches not unlike they way they were moving through college students earlier. Keith moves silently and skillfully, dodging low branches and leaping over roots with precision that Shiro is amazed by. He must play this game a lot.

Shiro isn’t quite as graceful. Vines snag on his feet and branches swipe at his face, leaving scratches behind in their wake. When he stumbles, Keith is there, a warm presence at his side and a surprisingly strong arm around his waist to support him.

A bright light streaks past them, red and angry, and Shiro feels heat from it as it passes by him disappearing off through the trees in front of them. A small trinkle of fear crawls up Shiro’s spine as Keith curses and makes a sharp right. Just how serious were these people about their game?

Seconds after Keith changes their direction, Shiro finds himself pressed up against the trunk of a tree, with Keith in front of him, eyes and ears flickering in all directions as he tracks things Shiro cannot see or hear.

The expression on his face is so serious, Shiro can’t help but smile at it.

“Hey, Keith.”

“Shh!” Keith slaps a hand over Shiro’s mouth.

Shiro frowns, thinking that was uncalled for. The woods are silent around them. They must have lost Keith’s friends when Keith abruptly changed their direction. He licks Keith’s palm in retaliation.

This gets Keith’s attention on him again. “Shiro!” he snaps in a whisper, focusing on him. “Now isn’t the time to-” He cuts off with a strangled noise as he stares at the space above Shiro’s head.

Shiro looks up, feeling Keith’s hand slide away from him as he does. There’s nothing above him but the branches of the tree they’re leaning up against and the clear night sky peering through the leaves.

He keeps his voice quiet when he asks, “What is it?”

Keith’s hands are suddenly on his head, fingers tangling in Shiro’s hair. It would feel nice if Keith wasn’t being quiet so rough.

“Ow! Keith-”

“Your ears,” Keith whimpers, ears low and eyes wet. “You lost your ears because of me.”

Shiro blinks. He reaches up to feel his ears, intact and still very much there. What is…

“Oh!” His hands join Keith’s on his head, feeling for the headband with bunny ears. It’s gone. It must have fallen off at some point while they were running, probably during one of the times Shiro hadn’t been able to dodge a branch in time.

“It’s alright,” he says, because Keith looks devastated. “They weren’t real, like-” like yours, he almost says, but Keith is doing such an amazing job at acting devastated and confused now Shiro doesn’t want to ruin the scene. “Humans sometimes dress up as things they aren’t. I dressed up like a bunny tonight, but I’m not actually a bunny, you know? Because I’m a human. And humans only have one set of ears.” He tugs on his own for emphasis.

Keith takes a moment to process this. His voice trembles a bit when he asks, “You’re not hurt?”

“Not at all,” Shiro says, taking Keith’s hands in his and squeezing.

Keith leans toward him and for a brief second Shiro thinks they’re going to kiss again, then Keith bumps his nose against Shiro’s jaw and nuzzles him instead. It’s a surprisingly sweet move. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me,” he whispers.

Shiro’s pulse thrums. “Keith…”

Keith nuzzles him once more and when he pulls away from Shiro, his expression is strong, determined. “I’m going to make a run for my ship. I’ll make enough noise that they catch my trail immediately and when the coasts clear, I want you to run back the way you came. Go back to your party.”

“What?” Shiro stares at Keith in shock. “No!”

“Yes,” Keith says, voice firm. “Shiro if these creatures get to you they won’t hold back. You could get hurt. You could die. I have to protect you.”

Which is honestly a bit of an extreme statement for a game of tag, but the raw emotion in Keith’s voice paints through the Shiro’s logic. “Well if I’m not here, then who is protecting you?” he asks, barreling on when Keith tries to cut him off. “Look, you’ve already brought me this far along. You don’t get to just leave now and travel off into space without me in your fancy spaceship.”

Keith kisses him then, all teeth and heat and ferocity. Shiro knows he’s trying to say goodbye so he kisses him back just as feirce, shoving his tongue between Keith’s lips and holding him tight. When Keith pulls back this time, Shiro tries to memorize every single detail of Keith’s face so he’ll be able to recognize Keith once Halloween is over and he’s not purple and wearing cat ears. He sees the whites of Keith’s eyes, how round his pupils are and thinks, wait.

“I’ll come back for you,” Keith promises. “Go back to the party and wait for me.”

“Keith-”

“Shiro, I’m faster without you.” Keith grimaces after he says it but he doesn’t take it back.

The fight drains out of him and he slumps against the tree. “When will I know the coast is clear?”

Keith kisses him again, just a quick peck on the lips. “I’ll let you know.”

And then he’s gone, vanishing off into the night with inhuman stealth. Shiro sighs leaning his head back against the tree trunk and looking up at the stars, waiting.

Minutes tick by without a sign from Keith and Shiro begins to worry. Did Shiro somehow miss the signal? Did Keith get caught? Did Keith leave him for good?

He shakes off the last thought almost as soon as he thinks it. He only knew Keith for a few hours, but he trusts him. And he trusts himself not to have missed any type of sign in the otherwise silent forest. Which means at best, Keith isn’t ready for Shiro to run yet or at worst, he’s been caught.

The thought prompts Shiro to jog off deeper into the woods instead of back the way that they came like Keith wanted him to. If he runs away while Keith needs his help, Shiro would never forgive himself.

As he runs he strains to hear any type of sounds that would give him a clue as to where Keith and his friends have gone to. The woods remains silent, eerily so now that Shiro is thinking about it.

A twig snaps suddenly to his right, causing Shiro to come to a stop. He squints off into the darkness trying to see anything recognizable in the shadows.

“Keith?” he calls when he doesn’t see anything.

“Not quite,” a deep voice rumbles from behind him.

Shiro turns to find one of Keith’s friends behind him. His helm is off and his face his violet like Keith’s, except he’s covered in fur and his ears resemble more of a bats than cats. Shiro frowns at him. How…?

“Umm,” Shiro says. “You caught me.”

“That I did.” The man grins at him. He has fangs. “Where is the half-breed?”

Shiro glares. “You mean Keith?”

“Yes. Keith,” the man sneers. There’s so much hate in his voice, Shiro highly doubts it could all be an act. “Where is he?”

Shiro shrugs. Smiles. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

The man pulls something out of his belt. At first it looks like a handle or remote of some sort, but then his clawed finger presses down on one end and out the other end bursts a thick ray of red light. It reminds Shiro of toy lightsabers from Star Wars but this one looks dangerously real. How, how, how…

The man advances on him, wicked smile on his face and another stab of real fear shoots through him. It’s just a game, he tries to tell himself. It doesn’t feel very much like a game when the man lunges at him with deadly speed. Shiro leaps out of the way, feeling heat sear his back as the blade narrowly misses him.

He runs several feet and twists around, eyes widening when he sees the tree he was standing in front of moments ago is now seared through the middle, flames bursting out of the trunk when the man rips the blade from it.

_The Galra are a species from a galaxy far, far away_

_You don’t think it’s strange that I’m not from your planet?_

_These creatures are the reason I’m here tonight. I was running from them in my spaceship and they shot out one of my engines. This was the closest habitable planet I could find to wait for my ship to repair itself._

_“I’m part of a team of intergalactic mercenaries. My last mission involved me going undercover on a planet lead by a tyrannical king. I was to get close to him and, when the time was right, kill him.I killed him. And now his men are after me._

_You’re handling all of this surprisingly well._

_I don’t want you to get hurt because of me._

The man comes for him again and Shiro dodges, rolling out of the way as his sword comes crashing down to the ground where Shiro was just standing. He sprints through the trees, trying to buy himself some time to think while he runs for his life.

Okay.

So.

He’d made out with an alien earlier tonight. An alien that had been incredibly honest and sweetly worried for Shiro’s own safety. An alien that’s apparently in danger from the other larger alien Shiro is running away from.

Shiro reaches down and picks up a thick branch from the ground, twirling on his heel to face the giant alien tracking him.

His gait is confident, slow and silent as he moves closer to Shiro.

Shiro holds out his stick like he would a sword. “If you want Keith, you’ll have to go through me!”

The large alien grins. “Very well.”

He crouches in a lunge and Shiro tenses, readying himself for the fight for his life. The giant alien’s sword glows. Shiro’s branch is no match for it but he knows he has to try because Keith is out there and he-

A shadow falls over them followed by a gust of wind so great Shiro’s branch flies out his hand. He stares in awe at the space ship-because that has to be what it is- hovering over them, sleek and round and covered in strange glowing symbols that remind Shiro of constellations.

Movement draws is attention back down to the ground and Shiro jumps out of the way just in time to avoid a swipe of the large alien’s sword that would have sliced his head clear off his shoulders.

“Vrepit Sa!” he cries, too distracted by his bloodlust to notice Keith leaping from the space craft, a long blade of his own in hand.

Shiro does though, and he’s smiling as the alien raises his sword over his head, preparing for the killing blow. Keith reaches the alien before the alien has time to swing down, slicing through his armor with ease and painting the ground in front of Shiro with violet blood.

The large alien slumps to the ground and Keith remains standing his place, tall and proud and beautiful as he scowls down at the aliens body.

When he turns to Shiro his expression softens in concern. “Are you alright? Did he hurt you?”

He reaches a hand out and when Shiro grabs it, he pulls Shiro up and against him, into a tight hug.

“I’m not hurt Keith,” Shiro says, relieved that his new epiphany hasn’t really changed anything between them. He hugs Keith back just as tight. “You have to take me with you.”

Keith pulls back from him, shooting him a small smile. “Where do you want to go?”

“Everywhere.” Shiro kisses him. “Everywhere with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you liked this, feel free to leave a comment and/or a kudos!  
You can also find me screaming about fandom stuff at  
[Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/glaciya) and [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/glaciiya)


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